The Practice virgin’s diary – It’s Shawn Hunter!
(Season 3, Episodes 17-20)
Eugene battles his ex-wife for custody of their son, Helen floats further and further away from sanity (and legal acumen), Jimmy finds a gal, and Donnell and Associates gets hustled onto cases that are too big to be limited to just one episode. And my guess is too big for just one arc, as well. A lot should be coming back to haunt them sometime soon.
3.17 “Target Practice”
I guess it makes sense … after suing big tobacco, dancing with asbestos class action suits, and going after cancer-causing utilities companies, Donnell and Associates represented a plaintiff suing a gun manufacturer because one of their guns was used in the murder of the plaintiff’s daughter. Sympathy should really be barred from the courtroom, at least in a trial where it outweighs fact, legal precedent, or legal superiority. Negligence for manufacturing a product that could potentially be used to perpetrate a crime? Come on. Read the rest of this entry »
See Jane Clack – Harvey Birdman, Joan Rivers and Private Practice
This week has me clacking about Harvey Birdman, Joan Rivers’ freakish face, and that massive shark-jumper, Private Practice. Read on….
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. I’m not sure where I was when this show aired during its four-season run, but we’ve been watching it on DVD and it’s a hoot. We’re just into season one, and my favorite episodes are the “Bannon Custody Case” (Race Bannon and Dr. Quest battle in court to see who gets custody of Johnny and Hadji), and “The Dabba Don.” The opening of that episode with Fred Flintstone driving through Bedrock to The Sopranos theme song is pure genius. Anyone else a Harvey Birdman fan? Ha HA!
Ten best movies adapted from TV series
Last week I did a little dumpster diving on the Hollywood backlot and pulled out a collection of vomit-inducing big screen adaptations that failed miserably to live up to the TV series that inspired them. The putrid stench of their incompetence still clings to the walls at FOX, Warner Bros., and Universal. No amount of Lysol can combat these odious bombs.
Out with the bad; in with the good. Once in a great while, Tinseltown gets it right. The small screen to big screen transition — when placed in the hands of skilled practitioners — can be quite smooth. The following list of successes is the exact reason why TV series are such popular fodder for movie producers. Without further adieu, let’s frolic in a jasmine-scented meadow and drink from the cool refreshing waters of a babbling brook. It’s time to inhale some cinema goodness.
CliqueClack Mini-Flashback – The West Wing, Season Five
The brief back-and-forth I recently had about shows and their creators (following a great review of the Scrubs premiere) led me to pay a visit to my DVD bookcase. Over the years, my wife and I have assembled quite the collection of TV on DVD, and every few months I cycle back to the beginning and watch every show all over again. Well, since the baby not so much, but let’s just say that I have a fair number of cycles under my belt already.
Anyway, the back-and-forth was about Aaron Sorkin and his behemoth, The West Wing. The gist (if you’re too lazy to have clicked the link above) was that when a creator who is the voice of a show leaves, the tendency is for the quality to go with him or her. I suggested that this curse did not befall The West Wing, and was supported to an extent. Under contention? Season five. (Before I begin; one big mistake that Aaron Sorkin made? Letting Rob Lowe go.)
Chuck – Ocean’s Four with Chuck, Casey, Sarah and … her dad?
(Season 2, Episode 10 – “Chuck Versus the Delorean”) 
Not the most helpful of episode titles, but a very good episode nonetheless. Anna was back, but her return to the show meant some serious life decisions for Morgan. Is he up to the task of manning up and taking on real adult responsibilities? Look at the episode title again for a clue to that answer. We did get to see Captain Awesome showing some real human reactions other than general awesomeness, and it was nice to see him humanized a bit.
I like the diversity of the cast on Chuck, from Ellie and Awesome at home to the wacky gang at the Buy More (Jeff gets creepier by the episode) to our core favorites of Sarah, Chuck and Casey. What a great cast, and it’s amazing how seamlessly the writers manage to meld these three worlds into one souffle of entertainment. Tonight, the mysterious Sarah Walker’s past was revealed a tiny bit more with the inclusion of her father on the mission.
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